President Barack Obama is "...the first president to make nuclear disarmament a centerpiece of American defense policy," "The New York Times," May 10, 2009. Everyone talks about how complicated and difficult disarmament will be. The way to begin is by not needing Nuclear Energy for power. It would be hypocritical to disarm weapons but increase the number of NP power plants, especially when nuclear energy is unnecessary. Let's compare the Sumaruck System of power production to nuclear power plants.

A lot can happen in just one week…

At the Jersey Shore, Oyster Creek nuclear generating station is the old man of American nuclear power production - build in 1969, it is the oldest nuclear power plant in America.

Nuclear power may have served us then when choices were few, but nuclear power just isn’t necessary any longer.

Maybe 1969 was a good year for wine, but not a particularly good year for nuclear power plants; it’s even older than Chernobyl (1974), and constructed using a outmoded design, now replete with defects. There is a tendency toward corrosion where a drywell shell could buckle and leak water. Spent fuel rods must be kept under water; exposure to air could lead to a nuclear reaction. . “There’s always the waste issue,” says Julia LeMense of Eastern Environment Law Center.”

One would think Exelon, the parent company would want to do anything possible to expedite the repair process, since Oyster Creek, according to Ms. LeMense, is a “merchant” plant and a moneymaker for the company - serving primarily corporate/industrial needs. Every day lost is big money for them.

According to Reuters, “In a report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company (Exelon) said (on Saturday, April 25) power to the transformer cooling system oil pumps and fans was lost when the control power transformer failed,” and the reactor had to be shut down. This particular transformer was installed in February to replace a previous shutdown, according to Joshua Riley of the “Asbury Park Press,” from his article on April 27.  There is an implication this replacement transformer may not have been new. Plant spokesman David Benson told reporters they have 2 new transformers currently on order. Asbury’s environment editor, Todd Bates mentioned a leakage at a monitoring station near a well.  

Exactly one week later, and the plant is still down. Is this week’s delay harmful? If you are ocean wildlife, yes. Oyster Creek is an island surrounded by a discharge canal. According to Clean Ocean Action, an environmental group, when the plant’s cooling towers are not operating, 1.3 billion gallons of cold water is flushed daily into the Barnegat Bay. Over the years, ocean life has become accustomed to the warm and chlorinated water from the nuclear plant. Now the infusion of cold water could cause a large fish kill.        

Another problem with Oyster Creek - one week after the NRC renewed Oyster Creek’s operating license for another 20 years, on April 15, the plant discovered the tritium (a radioactive atom) level was 5 times higher than the UPA limit for drinking levels. Tritium was found in “a 20ft. deep sampling pipe near a storage tank” - again according to “Asbury Park Press.” Some days later, the level went up 200 times higher.

Ms. LeMense, “Leakage (not related to the transformer issue) is clearly a problem; pipes may have corroded (the corrosion design flaw) and cracked; tritium could enter the bay.

I asked her what about shutting down the plant entirely like the company did at their Zion, Illinois plant. “Decommissioning funds were established some time ago but they have not kept up [with inflation]; the amount is not sufficient. It’s a taxpayer issue.” But knowing decommissioning was provided for…shows it was/is a considered possibility.

Problems of nuclear waste are always with us - 10,000 years. More on Zion - facing Lake Michigan -  from a CBS Chicago story. Text and video detail how sticky this issue is. 

Decommissioning Oyster Creek would give the opportunity to change to a different form of energy power production - the Sumaruck System comes without the now so customary disadvantages of nuclear power. The new system is inexpensive and produces no pollution. It does not kill people or wildlife, water or air and it will not take years and years of R&D. We can begin nuclear disarmament as well as a new form of power production, and in doing so, protect our country.

On Friday, May 1, “The New York Times” reported that an 8 to 12in. pipe at the Indian Point 2 nuclear plant in Buchanan, N.Y. had broken and water was coursing across a floor at the site. The story was subsequently reported by MSNBC that night.

The odd thing was that the Times stated the water flow had happened on Feb. 16 - that’s two and a half months ago, not really breaking news. Apparently what brought the story forward was Rep. Edward J. Markey, the Massachusetts democrat who heads a House subcommittee on energy and the environment, “…the leak raised serious questions about the regulatory commission’s oversight.” If Rep. Markey hadn’t said anything, that leak would probably never have become public information.

Was this incident just getting their feet wet or was it critical to plant operation and safety. A spokesperson said the "pipe supplies a 600,000 gallon tank used whenever the plant ‘trips’ or shuts down.” We’re learning how essential water is in this powerful process - a simple thing like water.

The Times article also refers to tritium as an issue, associated with water leaks as problems for reactor plants at Braidwood, (just this week), also Byron and Dresden, Illinois, and Palo Verde, Arizona…but no mention by the Times of Oyster Creek - probably the most egregious problem location. Disadvantages to nuclear power speak for themselves.    
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Within this week, the Baltic country of Lithuania, almost halfway around the world from the United States, is also having problems with their nuclear power. Ignalina is a Chernobyl era design, built by the Soviets in 1978, coming online in 1983.  The European Union mandated Ignalina to be decommissioned permanently. Unit 1 was shut last Dec.; Unit 2 must close by the end of 2009.

On Wednesday, April 29, 2009, “Baltics Agree Joint Power Market, Sweden Link” from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have formed a “common electricity market.” This common market would run an underwater link of 350 kilometers. They also talk of plans for a new nuclear power plant for Lithuania to be built by 2015.   

As an alternative to nuclear, on May 1, 2009, the Spanish energy company Iberdrola Ingenerate y Construction SA signed a contract with power plant operator Lietuvos Elektrine, Lithuania, to build a 444 MW combined gas turbine (CCGT) power plant. Completion date is 2012 - does this leave Lithuania without power for 3 years.

At this time, 70% of Lithuania’s power comes from nuclear and 30% is natural gas from Russia. While they wait for the gas turbine plant to be built, Lithuania will need to rely on Russia, (in an era when they want to be independent). When the new gas turbine plant comes online, will Lithuania get their natural gas fuel again/still from Russia.

Visit http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2008/Feb/matuzieneFeb08.asp  for text by the Naval Postgraduate Office of National Security Affairs offering much information. Be either patient or amused - the text suffers from two translations (English to Lithuanian and back to English).

For a wow-beautiful photo from a British company, go to metoffice.gov.uk   The text explains what a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine is and does, but the photo is the work of art. Just look at it - it’s huge. Peter Sumaruck’s power production system would only take up one thousandth of the space of this power plant. Better yet, Mr. Sumaruck says, “have a series of smaller power plants close to where you need the power - a larger one for a city (the capital, Vilnius), one for a town… a tract of homes…or a farm would have it’s own power system.”

Again to the photo - note those giant towers draped across the countryside - the usual high voltage transmission tower is a danger as well as a visual blight. In a war zone like Afghanistan, they are a target, especially around the Kajaki Dam . With an individualized Sumaruck System, those towers are gone - now made redundant. Weather also effects the efficiency of a gas turbine power system. Note the line from the British article, “…the amount of power produced by the turbine is highly dependent on the weather,”  determined by humidity, temperature and pressure. Weather never effects the Sumaruck System.

With the gas turbine system, extremely high heat is essential to the design concept.  Compare this to the Sumaruck System which never heats up - there is no heat, ever. The gas turbine power plant which runs at 65 to 85% efficiency, the Sumaruck System runs at 100% efficiency.
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Nuclear news from Spain, on Wednesday, April 29, 2009  - Spain’s Garona nuclear power plant came back online after a 4 day unscheduled shutdown. Debate in Spain heats up over Garona and Spain’s 8 other nuclear plants, with Garona’s operating permit up for renewal July 5. The government wants to phase out nuclear across the country, “in favor of a booming renewable energy sector,” according to yournuclearnews.com
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Further around the world in a week - Deputy Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Abdullah Solatsana, on April 29, said his country will be able to license other countries for nuclear fuel production, employing the same standards of the US, China, Russia, Japan and France.  Oh, they do so want to be just like us.
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May 4, no surprise here - “Fighting May Put Nuclear Arsenal at Risk, U.S. Says,” from the “The New York Times.” “…new vulnerabilities for Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, including the potential for militants to snatch a weapon in transport or to insert sympathizers into laboratories of fuel-production facilities.” It’s an important story, but we already surmised this didn’t we.
 
Over there, all we can do is do our best. If we were now using the Sumaruck System of power production, our mobile Army power supplies would not run on diesel - see the picture of a 50kW genset from the Energy Box on this site, technology now updated and improved. When power supplies are mobile and do not use diesel, they do not explode under assault - again note the Kajaki Dam. Our country spent a lot of money upgrading that day - money spent unnecessarily; power plants can be placed, not close to the source but close to the need. This is smarter and safer. Think how many lives could have been saved in Iraq and in Afghanistan starting back in 2004.

Napoleon was convinced that an army won because of what they ate, but actually an army has to have power to cook their food - power without diesel, without nuclear, without natural gas …power that is mobile and not flammable. And if Pakistan used the Sumaruck System of power production, they wouldn’t need nuclear power. Neither would India.
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On around the world for an article published on April 29, again from yournuclearnews.com  - Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant - the world’s largest - has been shut down since a July 2007 earthquake. On May 7, local mayors of the city vote on whether to reopen the plant. Also, there was a small fire at the plant just this month. Market sources say it will take 40 to 50 days to complete tests for a final inspection.  Over these two plus years of down time, they have been using 32,000 barrels of oil per day for fuel. Japan is a compact island; it would be a showcase country for a Sumaruck System power conversion.

Also keep in mind, the Middle East is prone to earthquakes - Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon.

All in a week’s work - Oyster Creek came back on, a week later, Monday, May 3, up to 66% active. With nuclear power, it’s an on again, off again roller coaster. The issues are ongoing, some reported by the press, some not.

If we can choose power production systems that don’t come attached to serious dangers it will always a reliable win…if we choose electricity, pure and simple, we will eliminate the baggage from old technology. Nuclear waste won’t go away, but we can improve our odds - choose not to increase the dangers by building unnecessary new nuclear. The Sumaruck System will give us economical pollution-free power with out the distress calls.

View a video of one of Pete's prototypes, this one is small and simple http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=pete+sumaruck&emb=0&aq=f